Daniels Denies Trying to Quash Academic Freedom By Tom LoBianco | Associated Press | 07/17/2013 Excerpts: INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Purdue University President Mitch Daniels fended off calls for his ouster Wednesday and denied trying to quash academic freedom while serving as Indiana's governor, a day after an Associated Press report cited emails in which he opposed use of a book by historian and antiwar activist Howard Zinn. Conservative free speech advocates rose to his defense, saying it was appropriate for Daniels to express concern about what was taught in public institutions. Emails published Tuesday by the AP show Daniels tried to ensure Zinn's book was not used in Indiana's K-12 and college classrooms and that he wanted to "disqualify the propaganda" he said was being taught to teachers in training at Indiana's colleges. Daniels on Wednesday told reporters at Purdue that the story was "unfair and erroneous." He had previously told the AP he was only referring to Zinn's book appearing in K-12 classrooms. Neither he nor a spokesman replied to questions from the AP Wednesday about what he found to be in error. Daniels said at his news conference that he would never censor academic views. If Zinn had tenure at Purdue, he said, "I would defend him and his rights not to be dismissed for the nature of his work." Daniels' 2010 emails, obtained by the AP through a public records request, showed the governor requested that Zinn's 1980 book examining American history with a focus on violence against Native Americans and on class inequality be banned from classrooms. The Republican also asked for a "cleanup" of college courses and talked about cutting funding for a program run by a local university professor who was one of his sharpest critics. "This terrible anti-American academic has finally passed away," Daniels wrote, referring to Zinn, in an exchange of emails between top state education officials on Feb. 9, 2010. "The obits and commentaries mentioned his book, 'A People's History of the United States,' is the 'textbook of choice in high schools and colleges around the country.' It is a truly execrable, anti-factual piece of disinformation that misstates American history on every page. " His education adviser responded that the book was being used at Indiana University in a course for teachers. David Shane, a top fundraiser and state school board member, also recommended a strategy for reviewing the content of university courses. The publication of the emails sparked reaction in higher education circles nationwide, with some educators expressing alarm about whether a university president with such intentions would try to censor teachings. "It is ultimately bad for democracy. No head of state should engage in any form of censorship," said Gerardo Gonzalez, dean of the Indiana University College of Education. Purdue alumni who opposed Daniels' selection last year renewed their call for his removal. They had earlier questioned his academic credentials and suitability for the position. "I'm hopeful that this new information, which shows more people the side of Daniels we have always known existed, will energize people to work to have him removed," said Aaron Hoover, a spokesman for Society for an Open and Accountable Purdue and a 2008 graduate. read: http://netscape.compuserve.com/news/story/1001/20130717/E0098 ....... IMO: A typical viewpoint of a social conservative that would have any book that does not profess the republican mantra be taken off the shelves and destroyed in the pretext that they would propagandize another view of American history that conservative republicans do not want mentioned. As Daniels tried to oust Zinns books as radical, untrue depictions of early America, but as president of Perdue he was morally responsible that students read all views of our history whether the president of the college agreed with them or not. By attempting to take the books from students use, he was trying to censor the type of literature the students would use.
Did he also denying beating his wife and raping puppies? I can see Zinn's POV on certain elements of certain wars, but he is an admitted socialist and the people who follow him are not people I would trust to run the local recycling yard.
Another case of a republicon buying his future at government expense. He appointed the idiots who appointed him to a job for which he is not a bit qualified. Tell him to go find a job in industry or open a law office. Keep his anti-intellectual paws off of the education system.
Howard Zinn was a unrepentant Communist and that fact colored every paragraph he wrote. Keeping Communist trash out of schools only demonstrates Mitch Daniels' common sense.
you mean this howard zinn? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Zinn Wow who knew an academic dedicated to civil rights and anti-war could be such an evil commie lurking in the grass corrupting the minds of 'murkin yutes. The cold war ended a few years back. Probably before you were born.
